Court: Construction can resume on small stretch of pipeline

Published 2:52 pm, Sunday, October 9, 2016

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal appeals court has opened the door for construction to resume on a small stretch of the four-state Dakota Access pipeline while it considers an appeal by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

The ruling was issued on Sunday.

The tribe had asked the U.S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to continue work stoppage on the pipeline within 20 miles of Lake Oahe in North Dakota. The court earlier ordered work to stop while it considered the motion.

The court hasn't decided on the tribe's appeal of a September ruling by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who declined to shut down work on the entire pipeline.

Though work may resume, federal agencies have prohibited construction on a section right at Lake Oahe where land is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.